Threatened by a hoodie? Ummm, Right.

As an indie author of fiction, even I would find it beyond the realm of possibility that a man could still be walking around free after shooting Trayvon Martin.Yet, the fact remains that George Zimmerman is not arrested.Why?

We all know why. George is white, Trayvon was black and it happened in the gold ol' red necked South. My apologies to those who live down South and have actually moved past the War Between the States. I know many fine people who live there. Unfortunately, many others down there still believe that any black person walking the streets is up to no good. Although racism exists all over the country, the South has more than its fair share of bigots.

Which brings me to another question.  Why do states allow gun laws that say you can shoot if you feel reasonably threatened? Who determines that someone is able to be reasonable? Listen, before you get all up in arms (pardon the pun), think about this: When I was 13 I was almost raped by a male with black hair and blue eyes.It took until I was about 30 to not feel threatened every single time I saw a man with that color hair and eyes.That might seem over the top, but unless you have been raped I don't think you can form a legitimate opinion about my fear.

If any of those black haired, blue eyed boys or men got too close to me on the sidewalk or in a building, my heart pounded. I started to sweat. I wanted to scream. Just imagine how many black haired, blue eyed men I could have shot in 17 years. I was walking around, legally sane, and scared out of my wits by them. Boom. Sorry. You simply had the wrong color of hair and eyes. How many people do you think walk around every day looking reasonable, with unreasonable fears?

However, a hoodie did not cause Trayvon Martin to lose his life. Nor did reasonable fear. Prejudice did, and a vigilante that had illusions of becoming Clint Eastwood. George Zimmerman should be in jail. Shame on us. We should all know better, and we should all demand justice for Trayvon's family, along with tougher gun laws.

The killing of Trayvon Martin does not make me ashamed of being white.  It makes me ashamed of being human.